User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: The Dice Game
December 27, 2007 at 9:57 AMhi Juriaan, Actually, 色 is a 多音词 (duōyīncí), which means a character with more than one possible pronunciation. Here, for 'dice', 色子 (which is pronounced (shǎizi)) can be used, but as in the dialogue, 骰子 (shǎizi) can also be used. To make it more confusing, 骰子 (shǎizi) is also a 多音词 (duōyīncí), and can also be read as (tóuzi). So many words for dice! What the heck!
Posted on: The Dice Game
December 27, 2007 at 9:53 AMhi chubbeecheeks23, Yes, that is a little glitch! Sorry about that. But it shows how good your Chinese is, that you caught that. We are in the process of improving the exercises, so it will all be fixed up soon.
Posted on: Can I smoke here?
December 27, 2007 at 9:32 AMhi dongni, Yes, you could also just say: 哪里可以？ Nǎli kěyǐ? The context makes it clear.
Posted on: Handsome Boy
December 27, 2007 at 2:52 AMhi mikeinewshot, and sparechange, Great idea for Qing Wen. Will do it for you!
Posted on: Handsome Boy
December 27, 2007 at 2:51 AMhi nicolas, The meaning of 做” (zuò) and 作 (zuò) are the same, it is their usage that is different. To illustrate: “做” (zuò) 'to do, to make'. “做” (zuò) is used usually when speaking about concrete, tangible things, i.e.: 做事 (zuòshì) to handle matters 做作业 (zuò yīfu) to make clothing 做家务 (zuò zuòyè) to do an assignment 做衣服 (zuò jiāwù) to do housework 做饭 (zuò fàn) to make food 作 (zuò) has the same meaning, but is used more often in combination with other words to form nouns and idioms, i.e.e: 作文 (zuòwén) composition 作业 (zuòyè) assignment 作 (zuò) as a verb is used for speaking about more abstract concepts, i.e.: 作曲 (zuòqǔ) to compose music 作诗 (zuòshī) to compose a poem
Posted on: Useful Phrases #1
December 27, 2007 at 2:29 AMhi steveinsandiego, Yes 来 (lái) can have a few different meanings, depending on the context. In this context 我来 (wǒ lái) means "I'll do it". In other contexts, 来 (lái) means 'to come.'
Posted on: Night Cat
December 27, 2007 at 2:26 AMhello luobinzhenmei, I've listened to the recording for 劝酒 (quànjiǔ) and it's true, the difference between the sound for quan and chuan is very subtle. However, the recording here is correct. It is true that there are slight variations in accents depending on which region of China the person is from though, for sure.
Posted on: New Year's Song
December 27, 2007 at 2:21 AMhi FuDaWei, 元旦 (Yuándàn) refers to the western New Year's Day, January 1. 新年 (xīnnián) can refer to either January 1, or to the Chinese New Year's celebration
Posted on: Dorm Life: Late For Class
December 27, 2007 at 2:18 AMHi PaulC, amadues is right, the sentence would have to be: 你中文说得真好。 Nǐ Zhōngwén shuō de zhēn hǎo.
Posted on: Tone Rule: Two Third Tones
December 28, 2007 at 2:36 AMhi ruyide, 小姐 (xiǎojie) is in fact third tone, neutral tone. The pronunciation in combination with the neutral tone may come across sounding a bit like second tone, true, but it is more like a 'half third tone', which often happens when tones are read together. The third tone will not be as pronounced as it is on its own.